One of my favourite things about eating at restaurants in Japan isn’t just the food, but the work that goes in to enticing you in there in the first place. Outside most restaurants in Japan are what can only be described as ‘food art’, which is perfect in a global culture that is obsessed with #foodporn.

Known as ‘sampuru’ (quite simply the English for sample) these plastic models give potential diners an idea of the kind of dishes the restaurant serves. The samples are usually accompanied by a brief description of the dish then the price…

Angels Heart and Marion crepes are two companies that use plastic samples outside their small but highly decorated booths. They are also located directly oppostite each other down Harajuku’s Takeshita-dori.

Mascots are used by Japanese companies not just to attract the attention of the younger population and to induce a buying frenzy in merchandise, but they are used…

As I sit in my hotel room in Warsaw, with a beautiful view of the cityscape at night, Chopin playing, and a whisky in my hand (it was the bartender’s idea) my mind bends towards my visit to the largest and deadliest Nazi concentration camp.

The serene beauty of the area obfuscating it’s torturous past.
The train tracks covered in children trying to balance on them.
The barracks, most of which are nothing more than remnants, warm and aerated belying their former lives.
The presence of laughter and chit chat amongst so many visitors not precluding mourning nor, if I accidentally overheard right, admitting of association to loved ones.
The absurdity of the SS detonating dynamite at the crematoria to try and hide their deeds,
The irony of throngs of people clamoring to get inside with the staff ineptly managing the lines. I am now considering a tattoo. I am…

DETROIT (WWJ/AP) –
A judge said he will decide in two to three weeks whether bond insurers’ claims that the millions of dollars they are owed by Detroit should be considered secured debt during the city’s bankruptcy.

The companies want Detroit to use special property taxes to resume making payments on the bonds. However, attorneys for Detroit said Wednesday that debt is unsecured and not funded by a revenue stream.

Rhodes told the bond insurers and the city that they should work toward a negotiated resolution, according to The Detroit News.

“The decision here is most likely all or nothing,” Rhodes said. “One side is going to win and the other side is going to lose.”

How the city’s debt is restructured will be part of state-appointed emergency…